Chris Bosh: What I've Learned

Basketball player, 27, Miami

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Next year, if the other team is there for the first time and looking at the lights, we're going to punch them in the mouth. They'll be down two nothing before they can blink.

I didn't play the way I was capable of playing last year because I was trying to figure out how to fit in instead of going out and playing.

You learn to respect team chemistry. It's the fourth quarter, there's two minutes left, the shot clock is winding down, and we're like, What do we do? We didn't have that flow. Chemistry comes down to repetition. It's not, We've played some games, we have chemistry now. You have to talk on and off the court, see mistakes, correct mistakes, learn tendencies. It's constant work, and it comes with time.

That's what people say, that I was the catalyst. "Wherever he goes, the other two are going to go." I'm like, What? C'mon, man. I always put myself in a box when it's time to make huge decisions. I didn't even want to talk to them about it.

The moment he said those words, it was like: "Taking my talents" ... what? But who cares, he was coming to Miami! We were in Miami, and Miami was on fire. We were all celebrating. It took a little while for me to realize, Ohhh, boy. There are people who did not take kindly to those words.

When I arrived at training camp, ESPN had set up shop and you'd hear, "Reporting live from training camp." I'm thinking, What are they doing? This is what they do for the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA finals. That was the we're-not-in-Kansas-anymore moment. And it was like that for the whole time.

I'd get on Twitter and see all the nasty things being written. It's funny what words will do. Even when you know they're bogus, you still see them. The negative impact is still the same.

I learned how important it is to have a home that's in order — that's peaceful.

In New York, they started chanting, "Overrated!" Okay, that's a good one. That's clever.

Be clever.

They went too far that first game in Cleveland. That was crazy. The most degrading signs. Hey, if you're upset with LeBron, boo. "You suck!" That's okay. "You're trash!" Okay. But don't get personal. You don't know that person personally. It's just not cool. I don't think that night will ever happen again. We're stronger because of it.

My dad used to play every other weekend with me when I was young. I started getting better, but he could always beat me. Then one day, he realized the jig was up. And he stopped playing me just before I could beat him.

Spending is the easiest thing in life. You give me $100 million and I can spend it in twenty-four hours. You think I'm playing? I'm not playing. People can't fathom it. But going broke is the easiest thing ever. Money requires a lot of attention.

You might want to cut off some shorts and wear them with some boots and a cool shirt. That's fashion, because it's what you want to do. People can laugh at it, but you have to be like, "This is cool. I don't know what you're talking about." Next thing you know, people will be saying, That is kind of cool, man.

It's not hard to imitate a used-car salesman if you grow up watching television in Dallas.

My dad worked for a company that designed plumbing for different spaces. We'd be walking through a parking lot and he'd point to buildings and say, "That's the hot-water pipe right there. That's where the waste goes." It was such a random thing to talk about. But he knew all about it. And it all made sense years later when he told me, "You don't want to work at a job you hate. You've got to like your job."

As I've grown older, I've found myself a lot more curious about my parents.

It takes a year to plan a wedding.

"Why are you crying? Are you hungry? Can I go get it for you? Do you want to go out? Do you want to be picked up? What do you want?" "Waaaaaaaah!" My daughter has taught me patience.

I still have the element of surprise. They don't expect me to do what I'm going to do next year.

I want to be the best player in the NBA. Maybe not this year or the year after next, but one day...